Saturday, June 26, 2010

Where did this month go? And how is it that we are now half way through the year? Our June was swamped. The end of Paddle to the Sea, a wedding, Eric's 40th birthday, travel to L.A.... it's just been insane. But, it's been a fun month. Especially all the celebrating we did for Eric's 40th! It's no wonder Kai walks around singing "happy birthday" all day long... we've been celebrating birthdays since April (Penny's, Kailey's, mine and now Eric's) and we keep out-doing ourselves.

Eric's was a big one. And we celebrated over a couple of weekends. On his actual birthday, we bought him a new (to him) guitar, had a birthday lunch, and did a bit of a shopping spree at REI. Kai met a couple of nine year old girls at the REI, who taught her the joys of tearing around the store at top speed and hiding in the sleeping bags that hang from the wall. The next day, Eric sailed from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz, while Oscar, Kailey and I ran shuttle and picked him up at the other end. We thought we were going to camp, but there were no camping spots left. If I had known, Oscar would have stayed at home. A toddler and a dog by myself in Santa Cruz made for a stressful trip to the beach. But, Eric had a great sail, and Kailey loved playing in the "pool" (also known as the "ocean").

Before we left to run shuttle, I attempted my weekly (ahem) interview with Kailey. Not one of the best ones I have captured, but given that weekly has sort of morphed into monthly, it's all I have to post in the "interview" category. So, here it is:

We took a break from celebrating to do actual work for a couple of days and then we were off to Bodega Bay with Amy, Dave, Leo and Soren. We had a great time. Kai LOVED the hot tub and loved her 7-year old cousins even more. Although, she was really upset that she was not, also, 7 and spent most of our trip trying to prove that she can do anything any 7-year old can do. And, since she cannot, in fact, do most of the things a 7-year old can do, it also meant she spent a good deal of time throwing herself on the floor in frustration and crying. And then getting up and trying again. The hot tub is a good example. Leo and Soren can get into the hot tub by flinging a leg over the side and hopping in. Kailey cannot. Her leg flinging results in her hooking her big toe on the side of the hot tub -- which makes the hopping in part rather difficult. We suggested a stool. Kailey looked at the stool, looked at Leo and Soren, and clearly determined that she would not be accepting any assistance. If they could do it, she could do it. She tried. She grunted, slipped, landed on her bottom, tried again, worked herself into a frenzy, fell into a heap of tears. We suggested the stool again and Leo and Soren even demonstrated the hot tub entry using the stool. Kailey was not convinced. She knew they could use a stool, but she also knew that they hadn't used one previously, and that, it seems, was a sticking point with her. She tried again. More grunting, more slipping, more crying. And again. This went on for about 10 minutes when, finally, she managed to hook her toe and then inch her other foot up the side of the tub doing a bit of a lie-back maneuver. And, finally, she got her other leg over the side and popped into the tub with the proudest, smug-est, "i told you so-est" look on her face I have ever seen, although, I have a feeling I will be seeing more of those looks in the future.

Once Kai was in the tub, what do you think she did next? Well, she hopped right out and started to try to get in by herself again, determined to perfect the move. Over the course of our six days, she did perfect it, nearly "hopping" in along with the boys by the end (although, not really, since it always involved a good deal of inching one foot up the side... but, she did get quite quick at it). Practice makes perfect, I suppose. I just didn't necessarily see the need for this particular practice, given the stool and everything. But, her persistence and determination are always fun (if sometimes frustrating) to watch.

Kai also tried to sit on the railing of the deck with the twins, leap over the couches, jump off the couches, climb around on the rocks, and play board games (much to their chagrin... since her idea of playing is really just making a mess). Everything they did, she wanted to try. It was cute. Exhausting, but cute.

When she wasn't imitating the boys, she was running barefoot through the grass singing herself a few tunes.

And, of course, besides watching try to be a big kid, we did a lot of celebrating, a lot of popsicle eating, beach lounging, hiking, music playing and dancing, eating, drinking and being generally merry.

It was a really great week. So good to get away. We hadn't been away for that long on a real vacation since Kai was a couple of months old (when we went to Tahoe). Last year, we only managed a long weekend. So, it was really good to be together, relaxing. And, even better that it was for the purpose of celebrating Eric's last 40 years (and his many years to come). Happy Birthday, Eric!!!

Friday, June 11, 2010

Can you tell summer has arrived by my lack of posting so far this month? Here I was so good about writing in May, but June has sort of flown by already (and the rest of the month is busier than the last two weeks). There hasn't been a lot to write about, and I've forgotten to do my interviews with Kailey the last week (or has it been two?) I'll catch back up.

Besides my lack of posting, we know summer is here because Kai had her last day of soccer today (well, not last day EVER, of course. But, last day until after the summer is over at least). Of course, this isn't a real soccer team and the classes do continue through the summer, if one feels like signing up their child for another 10 week session. We are just going to do more summer-oriented classes this summer -- like swimming!! Although, I need to actually sign her up for those lessons... details, details. I will miss soccer, though. We've done it for two full sessions, and it really is a terrific class. And, really, toddlers in soccer uniforms... there is nothing cuter. Here's Kailey scoring her last goal of the season: